Events & Retreats – 3.31.2021

Step away from the Noise at “Sound Scape”

Listen to the sounds of creation, enjoy fresh air, and get a respite from the noise and frenetic pace of life during “Sound Scape,” at Jubilee Farm, 10:00-11:00 Saturday, April 24, 2021.

The free public event is offered by Jubilee Farm, a ministry of the Dominican Sisters of Springfield in partnership with the Academy of Lifelong Learning (ALL) at Lincoln Land Community College, host of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Big Read in Sangamon County. The NEA Big Read: Sangamon County focuses on the book Lab Girl by Hope Jahren, an American geochemist, geobiologist, and professor.

“We are delighted to be part of this community building program,” said Sister Rose Marie Riley, OP, Director of Jubilee Farm. “The NEA Big Read has an incredible listing of free and diverse programs offered by the partner organizations. Our contribution, “Sound Scape,” is an invitation to LISTEN to the sounds of creation. It provides time to step away from our busy and noise-filled lives and pay attention to Nature’s language.”

Participants are invited to wear comfortable clothes, bring a journal, and have something to sit on. Registration is required. For further information and to register call 217-787-6927.

More information about the NEA Big Read in Sangamon County is available here.

Jubilee Farm is located at 6760 Old Jacksonville Road, 3.8 miles west of Veteran’s Parkway. Follow Jubilee Farm on Facebook at www.facebook.com/thejubileefarm. It is one of 50 local organizations partnering for the NEA Big Read in Sangamon County.

The Dominican Sisters of Springfield are part of a worldwide Dominican family, the Order of Preachers. For more than 800 years, Dominicans have preached the Gospel in word and deed. The Springfield Dominicans were established in Jacksonville, Illinois, in 1873 and relocated to Springfield in 1893. Today, thousands of Dominican sisters, nuns, priests, brothers, associates, and laity minister in more than 100 countries around the world. To learn more about the Dominican Sisters of Springfield visit springfieldop.org.

Workshop Explores Women in the Church

March 19, 2021, Adrian, Michigan – Acclaimed author Sister Christine Schenk, CSJ, explores the history of women’s roles in early Christianity in her workshop, Women in the Church: Past, Present, and Future. The virtual workshop, presented through Weber Retreat and Conference Center, is from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. EDT Saturday, April 17, 2021. The schedule includes a break for lunch.

Sister Christine’s award-winning 2017 book, Crispina and Her Sisters, looks into the authority that women exercised in the early Church and, through visual imagery found on burial artifacts, demonstrates how these early disciples were far more influential than is commonly understood.

The founding Director of FutureChurch, an international church reform organization, Sister Christine also served as a nurse midwife to low-income families, a community organizer, and an award-winning researcher and writer. She writes a column, “Simply Spirit,” for The National Catholic Reporter.

The cost to attend the workshop is $30. Registration is required to receive the live stream link and is available at www.webercenter.org; click on “programs.” Registrations may also be made be contacting Weber Center at 517-266-4000 or webercenter@adriandominicans.org. Limited scholarships are available.

Weber Center Offers Hour of Prose, Poetry, and Potpourri

March 19, 2021, Adrian, Michigan – In recognition of National Poetry Month in April, Weber Retreat and Conference Center offers a virtual program of Prose, Poetry, and Potpourri from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. EDT on Thursday, April 8, 2021. 

Settle in with your favorite beverage and listen to poetry read by the authors, a reading from a book soon to be published, and familiar and original musical compositions.

The cost is free, but registration is required for the live stream link. Register at www.webercenter.org; click on “programs.” Registrations may also be made by contacting Weber Center at 517-266-4000 or webercenter@adriandominicans.org.

Explore Prayer Life of Catherine of Siena 

SINSINAWA, Wis.—Sister Kathleen Flood, OP, will offer insights into the prayer life of St. Catherine of Siena in Catherine’s Tapestry of Prayer. The program, sponsored by Sinsinawa Mound Center, will be held virtually from 10 a.m. to noon CDT Saturday, April 24.

Prayer is like plunging into the sea. This is just one of the images Catherine of Siena uses to describe prayer. She weaves a rich tapestry of concepts and images to invite us into a deeper prayer life. In our time together, we will explore some of her images. Sister Kathleen is a Dominican Sister of Sinsinawa and has been a frequent presenter for the Spiritual Formation Academy and recently taught a class about Catherine of Siena for Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. The fee is $20 per person, and the registration deadline is April 22 at 4 p.m. Please register by contacting Guest Services at 608-748-4411 or visiting our website at www.sinsinawa.org/moundcenter.

Embracing the Chaos: Learning to Love the Difficult

SINSINAWA, Wis.— Tom Roberts, a licensed psychotherapist and clinical hypnotherapist, will lead Embracing the Chaos: Learning to Love the Difficult, an online workshop sponsored by Sinsinawa Mound Center from 10 a.m. to noon CDT Saturday, May 1. Roberts specializes in hypnotherapy and mindfulness therapy. He asks, how often do we feel at the mercy of the events of our lives? Does it seem like the chaos is what is running the show? So much of our emotional; physical; and, especially, spiritual energies are spent trying to limit and control chaos. Participants will explore how what we refer to as chaos is really the substance of our spiritual growth. The fee is $30 per person, and the registration deadline is April 29 at 4 p.m. Please register by contacting Guest Services at 608-748-4411 or visiting our website at www.sinsinawa.org/moundcenter.

Lakota Holy Man Nicholas Black Elk’s Life and Colonialism Explored

SINSINAWA, Wis.—Join Maka Black Elk and Damian Costello as they delve into the life and possible canonization of Lakota holy man Nicholas Black Elk; what it means to be both Lakota and Catholic; as well as paths to healing from the trauma of colonialism, especially boarding schools. Black Elk and Healing Colonialism, sponsored by Sinsinawa Mound Center, will be held virtually from 6:30 to 8 p.m. CDT Wednesday, April 28. Maka Black Elk, a descendant of Nicholas Black Elk, is the executive director for Truth and Healing at Red Cloud Indian School in Pine Ridge, S.D., a former Indian boarding school. He brings a passion for interreligious dialogue to his work. Costello specializes in the intersection of Catholic theology, Indigenous spiritual traditions and colonial history. He is an international expert on the life and legacy of Nicholas Black Elk and the author of “Black Elk: Colonialism and Lakota Catholicism.” The fee is $15 per person, and the registration deadline is April 27 at 4 p.m. Please register by contacting Guest Services at 608-748-4411 or visiting our website at www.sinsinawa.org/moundcenter.

Soil and Soul: A Gardening Spirituality

SINSINAWA, Wis.—Sinsinawa Mound Center is celebrating Earth Day by bringing gardening and spirituality together in Soil and Soul: A Gardening Spirituality. This virtual workshop will be held from noon to 1 p.m. CDT Thursday, April 22, with Ecological Programming Coordinator Eric Anglada facilitating. The garden is a holy place and to garden is to engage in sacred work. Participants will delve into the spirituality of gardening and learn a few practical tips. The registration deadline is April 21 at 4 p.m., and the fee is $10. Please register by contacting Guest Services at 608-748-4411 or visit our website at www.sinsinawa.org/moundcenter.

The Iowa and Indigenous Resurgence: An Interview with Lance Foster

SINSINAWA, Wis.—Lance Foster, an enrolled member of the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska, will be the featured guest for The Iowa and Indigenous Resurgence: An interview with Lance Foster from noon to 1 p.m. CDT Tuesday, April 20. Join Sinsinawa Mound Center’s Ecological Programming Coordinator Eric Anglada for this virtual program that will explore the imagination and courage of Native peoples to see beyond the destructive history of colonialism and to generate right relationship with the land and the building up of community. Foster, a premiere Native historian in the upper Midwest, is vice chair of the tribe and tribal historic preservation officer. He is also an educator, acclaimed artist and author of “The Indians of Iowa.” The fee is $10 per person, and the registration deadline is April 19 at 4 p.m. Please register by contacting Guest Services at 608-748-4411 or visiting our website at www.sinsinawa.org/moundcenter.